Tweeting Can Be a Real Hoot With HootSuite
I’ll admit I’ve been slow to catch onto to social media, but I am now bitten by the bug. I started using Twitter back in the spring of this year. I bumbled along for a while feeling clumsy and awkward. I just couldn't seem to figure out how to use in a meaningful and intelligent way. I took a long break and then after several Tweet-less months I again succumbed to all the hype and jumped back on-board.
I now enjoy Twitter as a communication tool that is near real time and global. The key to make it an even more useful tool is to segment sending and receiving Tweets by subject and geography. That is true, at least for me, regardless if I am tweeting for business or personal.
Twitter hasn’t generated any leads so far but I am learning more about how to have fun with it while driving traffic to my website and blog (which is also quite new.) Actually, it doesn’t really matter if I generate any leads with Twitter. I’ve discovered some very useful information tweeting along the social media highway and frequently book marked some great resources. One in particular that I stumbled on called HootSuite I find quite remarkable.
Before HootSuite I was using Tweetdeck and I thought that was great. The ability to have several columns open and sorted, kind of, seemed incredible at the time. And that was barely a week ago. With HootSuite you can have multiple columns and multiple tabs which gives you many different ways to organize the sending and receiving of Tweets. It also handles multiple profiles and you can even schedule Tweets to be sent at a later time.
But the most powerful tool in HootSuite by far is called Hootlet. When you use the Hootlet tool to shrink a link and then to send a Tweet with that link the click-through statistics are collected. You can come back in just a very few minutes and see the number of clicks on the links in your tweet. You can even see what country the users are in. And of course, the best part of all is that it is free. I find that quite amazing.
I am having fun with Hootsuite and with Twitter while promoting sustainable real estate. I always take care to distribute quality information, not sales hype. I block and unfollow salesy Tweets without hesitation. I don’t like it and I assume other people don’t either.
Once this week, I had nearly 80 clicks on a mere 7-8 Tweets that only took a few minutes to initiate. I find that absolutely amazing. Of course, I am still amazed with telephones, televisions and airplanes.
I am curious how others may be using Twitter in their business.
Cheers,
Previous Post: Denver Metro Real Estate Market-October 2009
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John Thomas MSEE, MBA
(m) 720-771-5594 (e) john.thomas@e3greenhomes.com
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John, I too started on twitter in early spring and I haven't used it as much as I should. You have encouraged me to go back and learn more. I'll try getting with it. Thanks!
New to Twitter and this should provide me the tools (Hootsuite is on my list) I need to get up and running - thanks!
John...
Do you think we'll ever run out of the Twitterspeak? I'm thinking probably not. HootSuite? Now that's a hoot. Yeah. I know, that was corny :)
TLW...ROAR!
Wait...
I have one. How about a Hula-Hoot? :)
TLW...ROAR!
Good stuff, I can not really get into twitter. I can only handle so many of the social media gigs.
Hi John. I like both Tweetdeck and Hootsuite. They make it easier to manage using social media tools. ~ Lana
Hi John, what an inspiring post for me, the Twitter amateur. I am looking forward to exploring this Hootsuite you speak of, and seeing how I can utilize it to make Twitter more meaningful for my business. I am a Facebook champ, but have yet to catch the true Twitter bug! Thanks, and happy Tweeting :)
Hi John ~ I Love new toys - Looks like I'll be trying Hootsuite right after I finish this comment. I'm pretty new to twitter and like you still figuring things out. Also like you, I think long term it will be good for business - It's got so much more potential than people give it credit for! I just wrote a post yesterday about the "google juice" I'm getting from my twitter account. It's amazing to me that there is still so much skepticism about a great little networking platform that's an absolute breeze to use.
Thanks for the info. Off to try Hootesuite now!
Denise
John, thanks for the idea. I will have to check it out sometime. Sounds like a hoot!
Sam
I hear that tweet is a hoot, but I think it's for the birds. At least it's kind of seedy. I feel like I'm dropping the ball here. Maybe I should head home to the family nest.
I use Seesmic Desktop and if Twitter is for the birds then I don't mind soaring with eagles.
John -
I've not taken the Twitter step yet but with the encouragment of my broker and ultra hip/media savvy daughter, I don;t think it will be long. Encouraging, fun stories like yours are always good for a push.
Great share. Stats are always great to track the result of your efforts.
Thanks for the update -- seems there is a new tool every day.
I too need to learn more on using Twitter...I will look at this new product !
Hi John -- I just started using TweetDeck recently so I will have to check this out, sounds much more robust.
Thanks for sharing I am still trying to figure out twitter and appreciate the information
I just started Twitter and Facebook about 30 days ago and I love them both......thanks
Just when I thought I had it down with Tweetdeck, something new comes out. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. The learning never stops.
John, thanks for the information, I also have discovered some very useful information tweeting. i just need to really jump in. Have a great day Barbara
John, thanks for the post. Just signed up with Hootsuite. It has some cool features. Looking forward to learning about new toys tools.
John--Great Post. I will look at Hootsuire right away. I just finished a book entitled "Twitterville" by Shel Israel. It is a faxt read and very well presented.
What is you tweeter name? mine is Masstitleexpert
Elliott Topkins
www.topkinsandbevans.com
John - Just signed up for HootSuite and will play around with it. So much technology .... so little time. Thanks for the great information ... I like your market graph ... do you plan to post a tutorial on how you created it?
John,
I'm here because I have no idea what you are talking about. But, someone is going to have to write the post on Twitter 101 for me to follow.
There always seems to be a number of early adopters who will make good use of a new medium.
I'll be back to follow the comments on this post. Sorry that I don't have anything useful to say, other than thanks for posting this.
Brian
John,
Thanks for the post. You have given me a reason to start it now. So many people I know just kept telling me it was hard to keep up with. Looks like you found a way to manage it. Thanks!
Hi John - I really like that HootSuite has an integrated URL shortener in it. The analytics look impressive. This is definitely something I am going to add to my online toolbox.
Thank you for all these tips! I'm like you were in the Spring...a "newbie". Will check into this.
I just started using Twitter and admit that I still haven't been sure if I find value in it but I'm going to keep working on it.
Thanks John! You are just a Hoot!! (That's a compliment!!)
Blessings, Jill
Hey John,
Thanks for sharing. I was using Twitter for awhile, but it got to where it was taking up too much of my time. As a novice blogger, I have not yet learned to interface twitter, facebook, AR and all the other social networking sites to which I am affiliated. But I will definitely checkout hootSuite
I like the stats and shortner concept. How did you learn of this product?
Thanks for the tip on hoot suite--- sounds like a great tool and fun too! Wish I had another Sunday to play with it... instead of heading off to work tomorrow!
Okay - I'm convinced. I'm going to check out HootSuite now. Will let you know how I like it. Bookmarking this.
Thank you for this tip. I've been a tweetdeck fan up until now. I may have to trade it in for your suggestion. I love learning new things. Thats why I love and appreciate active rain. Thanks again
I think I still fall in the "awkward" part of being a user. When I would complete a blog post, I would then go on Tweet Deck and search for key words that indicated those tweeters may have interest in my post. For example, when I did a post on Girl Scouts, I looked for Girl Scout as a key word and then sent the link directly to those people. For local stuff, I searched for the name of the town I live in...When I did posts on H1N1, I searched for that or swine... you get the picture.
But then one day I got accused of sending SPAM. Even though my goal was simply to drive people to my blogs (and then, of course, hopefully to me as a real estate agent), I was trying to do it by share things that I hoped would be of interest. It was targeted marketing... but I guess it kind of was SPAM. I mean I often got positive comments, and even have managed to get my blog referenced as one of only 5 hyper local blogs in my area (and the only one by a real estate agent, mind you). So, it was working... but I got scared. I am not an intentional Spammer. So, I've laid off lately.
Guess I need to just suck it up. By the way, my blogs, should you want to check them out:
Real Estate: TheRealEstateWhisperer.blogspot.com - most recent post there about selling now vs. later
LivingInLoCo: LivingInLoCo.blogspot.com - most recent post there about the Loudoun Alert system in our community
Aswesome info. I just started "tweeting" and am taking a class next week. I don't get it yet, but trying. I like your designations! I just completed the NAR's GREEN designation classes and just waiting on paperwork. GO GREEN
Hi John - I've bookmarked your post for future reference. I joined Twitter last week and am following two or three local ActiveRain members who are also following me. I don't think that any of us has tweeted anything during the last few days so I think I will need to start following some people who actually know how to use Twitter for real estate.
Okay - tried it. Love it. Don't have enough history to really test Hootlet, but it looks like an awesome tool.
Can't see as many posts on HouteSuite as TweetDeck, but may have to play with configuration.
Wow...what a response. Thanks to everyone for the thoughtful comments. I'll try to leave a few comments in follow-up:
The Love Wife: You're a Hoot yourself...;-)
Jessica: You are way ahead of me on Facebook.
Denise...I couldn't agree with you more. I believe Twitter has enormous potential. So far today, I have generated over 125 clicks on my website and blog from about a dozen tweets. I have them scheduled to go out every half hour or so.
Michael...just go for it and have some fun doing it.
Kathleen...the market graph is created from the stats tab at the bottom left of the HootSuite page. You can only see stats on Tweets sent from the Hootlet (see bottom right of page)
Brian...there lots of great Twitter tutorials here on ActiveRain. You can also go to Twitter.com and find links to tutorials. Google and you'll get tons of stuff.
Loyd...there are some aps out there that let you make a single post that goes to FB, Twitter and your blog all at once. I personally don't care for them because the medium is so different FB for example starts to look like a messy closet with a zillion Tweets on it. Use one to promote the other.
Vicky...Not to worry, all innocent learning. I seldom send direct messages to anyone. I think you were making it a little too cumbersome by tracking down individuals. You want to sent Tweets to the part ot the Twitter universe that you think would be interested in what you have to say. For example, Here is how I do it:
1) I find a article onlike with news about green homes or green living that I think others would benefit from. Easy to do a quick search and using Hootlet (the tool within HootSuite for compressing links) I craft a quick few words before the link...
2) after the article link...I include a comment about Colorado green homes, for example, and then a compressed link to my website.
3) If i want to schedule the Tweet for later then I set the time. I usually send them 30-40 minutes apart.
And that's it! Some of my tweets get up to 12-14 clicks to my website or blog.
Like you said, just need to suck it up and jump back in. You'll find your way and develop a method that you are comfortable with. keep the faith!
Kelly...Congratulations on completing the NAR Green Designation. Go Green Indeed...
Lori...I see many more posts on HootSuite than on TweetDeck. I have five columns across my screen and I am currently using 3 tabs. You can have just about any number of tabs with many columns on each tab. I am not aware of being able to do that with TweetDeck. They are both good tools. Work with the one you are most comfortable with.
Thanks again everyone.
Cheers to all...John
John thanks for the tip! The best part was it took all of 1 minute to create the account and load my three different Twitter profiles. Ease of use is my first criteria for a new software solution and this one is pretty easy.
Never heard of Hootsuite, but I'll check it out. Anything that organizes and makes things more trackable sounds good to me! Thanks!
Another great blog John. Will be bookmarking this for when I have some time to play with Hootsuite!
Thanks so much,
DeeDee
It looks I will replace TweetDeck with HootSuite. Thanks for sharing. Cant wait to use stats feature.